Aspies For Freedom

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Infinity logo as a positive representation of autism
Infinity logo as a positive representation of autism
Autism rights movement
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Aspies For Freedom
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Aspies For Freedom is a group which is at the forefront of the autism rights movement. The term "Aspies" refers to high-functioning autistics, or those with Asperger's Syndrome.

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[edit] Aims

The aim of Aspies For Freedom is to educate the public that autism is not always a disability, and that there are advantages as well as disadvantages. For this purpose, the group organizes an annual Autistic Pride Day [1]. The group also campaigns against abusive forms of therapy, and against the idea of a cure for autism. The AFF hopes to have autistic people recognized as a minority status group.

[edit] History

Established in 2004 by Amy and Gareth Nelson, AFF soon received supportive letters from such autism experts as Simon Baron-Cohen, Tony Attwood and Donna Williams, as well as press from publications such as New Scientist magazine [2].

The protest against National Alliance for Autism Research, by then-AFF member Joe Mele, was the first anti-cure protest by an autistic person. The protest received international media coverage[3][4]. Seen as a pivotal moment in the history of the autistic community, Mele's protest was followed shortly by a protest against NBC's Autism Speaks campaign. A protest against Cure Autism Now in 2005, and the current protest against the Judge Rotenberg Center for its use of electric shocks on autistic children [5].

Aspies For Freedom has an ongoing aim to have members of the autistic community recognised as a minority status group. This started in November 2004 after discussion and debate with members, after which a statement was released called 'Declaration of the autism community'[6]. This detailed reasons for seeking such official recognition from the United Nations and the work continues towards achieving this.

The usage of the infinity symbol as a representation of autism, started by Aspies For Freedom in June 2004, was a reaction to the negative connotations associated with the jigsaw symbol commonly used by parents to represent autism. The jigsaw symbol was seen by much of the autistic community as an insulting reference to the fact that autistics can appear puzzling, in need of "fitting in" with society, or as having "a bit missing". It was felt that the infinity symbol better represents autistics by representing logic, persistence, perseverance, and unity of form.

[edit] Resources

The website of Aspies For Freedom contains other resources for autistic people more oriented towards personal experiences of an autistic, including: message forums, video programming, and a MediaWiki-based encyclopedia. The group also runs an IRC chat network for autistic people on chatautism.com, which it claims to be the first network for that purpose [7]. Online chatting is sometimes seen as essential to some with autism as a main source of social communication, as it is often easier for those with autism to communicate via the Internet.[citation needed] Offline branches of Aspies For Freedom include groups in Australia and Wales for those who wish to meet in real life.

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ↑  Judge Rotenberg Center. Retrieved on July 30, 2005.
  2. ↑  Autistic Licence. Retrieved on 31 December 2005.
  3. ↑  Explanation of first anti-cure protest at AFF. Retrieved on September 4, 2005.
  4. ↑  Harmon, Amy. "How About Not 'Curing' Us, Some Autistics Are Pleading", New York Times, 20 December 2004.
  5. ↑  chatautism.com. Retrieved on July 30, 2005.
  6. ↑  Trivedi, Bijal. "Autistic and proud of it", New Scientist, 18 June 2005.
  7. ↑  Status as a minority group. Retrieved on September 9, 2005.

[edit] External links

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